A major fire in the production hall of ECCO Leather in Dongen has completely destroyed the building. The fire brigade has the controlled burned out. Thousands of liters of oil and several tons of chemicals were burned in the fire. Because the fire burned so intensely, 99 percent of those substances are immediately burned and it does not cause a direct danger for the environment, a spokesperson for the Security Region of Central and West Brabant says. The fire extinguishing water may be contaminated and that is a risk to the environment.
Part of that fire extinguishing water is collected in the field of the company. The rest flows in a nearby ditch. Sand is thrown into the ditch in several places to prevent the contamination spread.
The fire broke out just before ten on Sunday evening in the Ecco Leather building on the Vierbundersweg on the Tichelrijt industrial estate. It is a production hall with a total size of 14,000 square meters.
Around half past two the safety region came up with the message that the fire brigade has the building burned out in a controlled manner. That means that the fire is not actively extinguished, but that they let it burn in a controlled way until the fire goes out of it automatically. The safety of the environment and people in the area is closely monitored.
At ECCO Leather, leather is made for the bag and shoe industry. Thousands of liters of animal oil and several tons of chemicals were in the building. The animal oil is released during the learning looi process. The chemicals are used to make leather. The fabrics were in a well -secured room, the fire brigade tried to prevent that space on fire. In the end that happened and the fire flared up huge.
Hazardous substances
Flames also hit the building on Sunday evening and thick smoke is still released. The roof collapsed, after which the entire building finally caught fire and could not be saved anymore.
The fire brigade has taken measurements and it has shown that there are no increased concentrations of hazardous substances in the air. However, there is still smoke and soot development. That is why the advice remains to keep windows and doors closed and to eliminate ventilation.
Five thousand solar panels on fire
There are around five thousand solar panels on the building that caught fire. This ensures sharp particles that swirl around in the area. These foil particles can be dangerous. The particles were found in Rijen, among others, in the street Zaaren and Stationsstraat. There are also pieces of solar panels on the Ringbaan Zuid in Tilburg. It is unclear how large the area is where the pieces of solar panels have fallen.
Measurements have also been taken in Gilze. The nearby Gilze Rijen Air Base has been informed of the fire, but is currently not hindered. Further consequences for the environment are mapped by the emergency services.
Drone team and lots of fire brigade
To get enough extinguishing water, water was removed from the Wilhelminakanaal with a pump. The Safety Region asks people to stay away from the area to prevent the snakes from being damaged. Surrounding companies, where work is done 24 hours a day, were informed and staff could leave the site via a special driving route.
At least four fire trucks and three aerial platforms arrived, including from Dongen, Rijen, Oosterhout and ‘s Gravenmoer. Due to the size of the building, the fire brigade used an extra fire brigade platoon. Now that the building burns out in a controlled manner, the extra platoon has returned to the barracks.
The fire brigade scaled up to GRIP 1 around midnight and around a quarter to one to GRIP 2. The mayor and the municipality started working more closely with the emergency services to better fight the fire.
No injured
A drone team arrived on site to visualize the situation from the air. As far as is known at the Safety Region, there were no people in the factory when the fire broke out. There is nothing to say about the cause, the fire brigade has focused primarily on control.
According to the Safety Region, there is no direct danger for surrounding buildings on the industrial site. “It is a large building, but it is separate and there is a road between the building next to it,” said the spokesperson.
The Safety Region advises people to keep windows and doors closed and turn off the ventilation.
Previous fire on the industrial estate
In 2018 there was also a major fire at TUF Recycling on Vierbundersweg 15. The company saved many more artificial grass mats than was permitted according to the permit. The mats flew into fire and the settlement of that fire lasted for years. The location of TUF Recycling is still a wasteland, near Ecco Leather.
